Meanwhile, James Vincent is urging critics to judge his gaffer on Caley Thistle’s performances rather than past perceptions of John Hughes’s managerial style.

And the Inverness midfielder laid full credit for Saturday’s stirring first-day defeat of Hamilton squarely at the feet of Hughes.

The former Hibs, Falkirk and Hartlepool boss was recently tipped by the bookies as most at risk of the sack in the Premiership this season.

There has been scepticism from some fans and pundits surrounding the new man’s desire to instil a short, sharp passing and possession-based game plan – contrasting sharply with predecessor Terry Butcher’s preferred style.

It is an approach the 49-year-old has deployed with varying degrees of success in the past but Vincent felt the proof of its worth was there for all to see in a “perfect” 2-0 display at New Douglas Park.

Vincent, the former Kidderminster Harriers and Stockport playmaker, said: “We always seem to have that underdog status and are often written off but it doesn’t affect any of the lads here. You just get on with your business. We get on with the way the gaffer wants us to play football.

“He wants us to play good football and that came to the fore at the weekend against Hamilton. We played some really great stuff and scored two good goals.

“We knew it would be a challenge against a new side coming up on the first day. A lot of our lads had never played on a 4G pitch before so we were glad to get off to a good start.

“To get the clean sheet and have our two front lads score the goals made it perfect.

“I’ve been really impressed how the gaffer has brought us all the way through pre-season to this point.

“You can’t judge anyone on the past. What matters is what he is doing now, not what people perceived to be happening at past clubs.

“We’re getting the ball down and playing football how every footballer wants to play. No one wants to boom it long. We are organised to play, training is sharp and geared to the match – we don’t train for the sake of it. We train to play good football and all the lads appreciate that.

“When it comes out in the games you can’t be happier than that. It’s fun to be part of.

“As crazy as it might sound we’re playing the game the way it should be played. When you get results too you can’t complain.”

Vincent, 24, hasn’t set any specific personal targets this season but wants to build on his creative role and score more goals.

He said: “I didn’t score that many last year. I chipped in with assists but I want to improve on both fronts.”

As for Dundee, Vincent admits Inverness are wary of the momentum Paul Hartley’s side possess after last term’s success.

But he added: “You want to win every home game. You want to make it a place teams find difficult to come to.

“We’re going to play football the right way, implement our game plan and see where it takes us.”